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Tupolev Tu-85

1951 COLD WAR X-PLANE

Tupolev Tu-85 History

During World War II (1939-1945), Soviet engineers were able to inspect three American B-29 superfortresses that were forced to land on Soviet territory after raids on the Japanese mainland. The aircraft provides engineers with a variety of advanced technologies for high-altitude and long-haul flights. During the country's war with Germany in the West, due to the lack of a truly viable heavy bomber, it was decided to simply copy the American design and redesign it as the Tupolev Tu-4 "Bull" in the following years.

The resulting bomber remained faithful in many respects to the original, with the 847 produced from 1949 to 1952.

However, the Tu-4 was found to be lacking in this role in order to keep up with the Americans' growing capability to launch long-range nuclear weapons. This encouraged more heavy bomber-related programs, many of which were scuttled.

Two of these proved more promising than the others, and these became the Tu-80 and Tu-85 prototypes, both based on the general configuration of the previous Tu-4 "Bull" and both directly related to the American B-29.

Both the Tu-80 and Tu-85 resulted in the use of a stepped cockpit (unlike the Tu-4 and B-29, which used a heavily glass streamlined nose section). The wings are long-span straight assemblies with two engine nacelles mounted on each leading edge. The tubular fuselage and large vertical tail of the B-29 were retained. The Tu-80's "nose-up" appearance is more distinctive due to the improved landing gear, while the Tu-85's stance is more in line with that of the B-29/Tu-4. Both Tupolev designs exist as long-range products compared to the Tu-4, thanks in part to the Tu-80's 2,650 hp 4 x Shvetsov ASh-73FN radial engines and the Tu-85's 4 x Dobrynin VD-4K "4,300 hp turbo compound" radial engine.

The Tu-85 has 11 operators. Its fuselage is 129 feet long, with a wingspan of 183.5 feet and a height of 37 feet. The curb weight is 120,365 pounds, and the maximum takeoff weight reaches 167,200 pounds. Each engine drives a four-bladed propeller assembly.

The Tu-80 was first introduced on December 1, 1949, but by then the product had been discontinued by the Soviet authorities in favor of the more promising Tu-85. It proved to be faster, had a longer range and had better bomb-carrying characteristics than the rival Tu-80.

It has a top speed of nearly 400 mph, a range of up to 7,460 miles, and a service ceiling of 38,380 feet. That compares favorably with the Tu-80's 340-mph top speed, 5,100-mile range, and 36,680-foot service ceiling.

The Tu-85 can carry a 40,000-pound ammunition load, up to the Tu-80's 26,500-pound limit.

Thus, the Tu-85 program completed its first flight on January 9, 1951, and included a second completed prototype. While the platform met the Soviet need for heavy bombers in the short term, it soon became clear that the current generation of propeller-driven heavy aircraft would soon be replaced by Western jet interceptors. This was especially evident during the Korean War (1950-1953), when propeller B-29s were observed to be abused by smaller, more maneuverable jet MiG fighters in intercept missions. The power output of turbocompound engines (basically reciprocating) did not provide the required quality at the time, leading to efforts to develop more efficient "turboprop" engines or turbojets that promised more power than traditional prop-driven types. Great range and better altitude performance.

This thinking prompted the authorities, in turn, to cancel the development of the Tupolev Tu-85.

Advanced work has finalized the turboprop configuration for the production of the famous Tupolev Tu-95 Bear, which is still in service today (December 2013) and detailed elsewhere on this page.